Chapter 1: Meetings

Hey guys! Okay I deleted my last attempt at a Fairy Tail story. I'm really bad at making up my mind, but we'll see if this one sticks or not. Hope you enjoy!

"Oi! Pyro give me back my pants!" A young Gray yelled as he chased after the pink haired dragon slayer. Natsu just laughed evilly as he held the thing in front of him as he ran.

It was just like any other day at Fairy Tail.

The other guild members chuckled as the watched the familiar scene. The two boys were always expected to fight at least five times a day. All they could do was hope the two would grow out of it in the future. Though it was doubtful, they were literally like fire and ice.

Erza Scarlet sighed in exasperation as she placed her hands on her hips before walking forward to intercede.

"Stop fighting this instant! You two need to learn to behave yourselves." She growled out, hitting the two on their heads. They both slammed into the ground from the force of her punches.

"Eh, don't be too harsh on them Erza." Macao suggested with a nervous smile, falling silent as she shot him a look. Despite the fact that the girl was literally half his size she still scared the heck out of him.

"O-ow…"

"She's evil…" Gray stared up at the red head with fear in his eyes while Natsu's held defiance. He knew, someday Erza would be the one lying at his feet. At least he believed so. Nobody else did.

"Looks like Erza got the best of you two again! Honestly." Lisanna giggled as she stepped forward, helping the two up. Natsu instantly beamed at her. But, just as he was about to speak their attention was drawn to the doorway as a loud crash sounded outside.

Everyone in the guild went silent at the noise. They stared at the door in confusion, wondering what that could have been. Erza was the first to move. She stepped towards the doorway with confidence and pushed it open slowly to reveal what was on the other side. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

Across the street a man was yelling at a young girl, shaking her by the collar of her shirt. She merely stared back at him blankly as he continued to yell. Behind them lay the remains of what seemed to have once been a fruit stand.

"-brat! You just destroyed my produce! This is why I hate street rats like you!" He looked like he was about to strike the girl. Erza's eyes hardened in determination and she was off in a flash. The man stepped back in shock as she suddenly appeared between him and the other girl.

"Sir, I believe you should stand down. Getting violent won't solve anything." She stated simply. The man saw the steely glint in her eyes and hesitated. But, she was just a child. He quickly gained back his fury and stepped up to the two ready to give them a piece of his mind.

"I shall pay to compensate you for the damage this young girl caused. Will that appease you sir?" The voice of Fairy Tail's master, Makarov, rang out in the streets as he stepped forward. He tapped his cane on the ground with a glare on his face.

The two had a stare down before the vendor just growled his acceptance, throwing up his hands into the air and retreating down the street. No one wanted to go head to head with the guild's Master. As soon as the man had disappeared, Makarov's eyes softened as he looked to the two girls in front of him.

Erza smiled up at him in gratitude while the other one, the girl that had started this mess, stared back at him with curious eyes.

"Hey, you should thank Gramps! He just paid for you!" Gray called out as he too stepped forward. The girl stared between Gray and Makarov before bowing slightly.

"Thank you." Her voice came out in a soft tone. Erza meanwhile was examining the girl. The clothes she wore were covered in dirt and she had various cuts covering her body. Her raven black hair hung down to her lower back. But the thing that really caught Erza's attention was the girl's eyes. Eyes are usually the window to the soul, but hers…were completely blank.

Erza was drawn out of her thoughts as the master stepped forward.

"What is your name child?" He questioned gently, looking down at her. The girl looked back up. She tilted her head to the side as if she had to really think about the question before answering.

"Reyna…my name is Reyna." She stated simply. Makarov smiled before waving her towards the guild hall.

"Reyna, it's nice to meet you. Come inside, you look like you could use some rest." He patted Reyna on the shoulder as he lightly began pushing her in the direction of the guild. Not hard enough to force her, but enough that she got the message.

She seemed hesitant but accepted with a slow nod. Erza smiled. The master had a habit of picking up strays.

"Here you are dear. Be careful, it's hot." Enno smiled at Reyna as she set a plate of food down in front of her. Reyna looked at it and just stared. She wasn't really sure what any of it was, but her nose liked it. She hesitantly stuck a spoon full in her mouth. Her eyes widened at the flavors before she began shoveling it all down.

"Don't choke." An amused voice rang out from her right. She glanced over to see a girl with her white hair held in a high ponytail. She was dressed in darker clothes and had a look on her face that made Reyna feel slightly uneasy.

"I'm fine, I was making sure to chew thoroughly." She replied before returning to her food. The girl beside her shot her an irritated look.

"It was just a joke kid, geez and I thought flat chest was serious." She mumbled under her breath.

"Mira-nee, be nice to Reyna." A younger white haired girl approached the table, looking at the older one with a scolding gaze. 'Mira' held up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Yeah yeah…" she rolled her eyes, but with a slight smile. Reyna looked between the two. She assumed they were related based on their looks and interactions. A strange feeling clutched at her chest and her head ached as she thought about it. She…she had a sibling. Perhaps? Maybe.

Reyna shook her head as the thought passed. Just another thing she wasn't sure about. Mira stared at her with a raised brow, obviously having noticed Reyna's little episode. She just ignored the look and continued eating.

"Ah, good you're eating. I hope it's to your liking. I realize I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Erza." The red head that had stepped in for her earlier appeared next to her, holding out her hand with a smile on her face.

"Hello Erza, it's nice to meet you." Reyna replied as she grasped the girl's hand and shook it carefully, hesitantly. If Erza noticed she didn't say anything as she removed her hand.

"So, what exactly happened with that vendor?" She questioned as she sat next to Reyna, who noticed that on her other side Mira was glaring heatedly at the newcomer. Reyna just chose to ignore it.

"I misjudged my landing and landed on the man's produce. Roof jumping is harder than expected." She explained simply, which left everyone else only more confused. Suddenly loud laughter filled the room. Reyna looked over to find the source and spotted a pink haired boy rolling on the ground.

"Classic!" The boy yelled out as he continued to laugh on the ground. Reyna stared at him in confusion, not really getting what was so funny but glad he found amusement in the situation.

She continued answering a few questions about what had happened as she finished her food quickly. As soon as the plate was clean she stood up, to the surprise of those sitting near her. She grabbed a small pouch from her waist which held all the jewels that she owned. Not much but enough to pay for the meal. She placed an adequate amount on the table.

"Thank you for the food." She bowed respectfully before turning to head out the door. A hand shot out suddenly, grabbing her and stopping her in her tracks.

"You're just leaving? You should stay for a bit. You need some rest." A brunette, she believed her name was Cana, examined her in concern. It was strange that she seemed to genuinely care. They just met after all. But, Reyna's body did in fact ache. She had been traveling non-stop for a while now. She lost track of the days.

"I don't have anywhere to stay." She explained with a shrug. Erza quickly stood up and placed her hands on her hips. Reyna noticed the red head did that quite often.

"You can stay with me. I have some old clothes that should fit you, and you can use my bath." She offered with a smile. She seemed strangely determined to get Reyna to stay. Having no further argument Reyna just nodded in acceptance and went to sit down again.

She wasn't used to staying in one place for over a day, but she did feel filthy and a river could only do so much.

"And this is my room." Erza opened the door to her room with a flourish. She had taken Reyna to Fairy Hills, explaining the dorms to the girl. Reyna stepped inside, looking around at the room.

"This is a nice room." She said almost in awe as she observed everything. Erza simply thanked her before digging through her drawers in an attempt to find old clothes.

"Ah, here we are! Here Reyna, these should fit. The bath is just in that room." Erza pointed at the door near the back of the room. Reyna nodded and went to clean off. Closing the door behind her, she took her time taking in the sight of the bathroom. To many it wouldn't seem like much, but to someone who's only way of taking care of hygiene was in the woods, it was more than enough.

The warm water soothed her aches and felt heavenly against her skin. The water also opened up feelings of nostalgia for her. She wasn't really sure what it was. The feel of the water on her skin, the laughter of someone (a girl?) in the background, and the smell of the sea filled her senses as she closed her eyes.

No matter how hard she tried, that was all she felt.

She allowed herself to indulge in the feeling, staying in for longer than what was necessary before getting out and redressing.

As she stepped out she glanced around and found Erza sitting on one half of the bed with a book in hand. She looked up as soon as Reyna opened the door and smiled.

"Good, you look much better. I hope you don't mind sharing a bed. I only have one. I can take the floor though if you're uncomfortable with it." Erza explained, waving her hand at the bed.

"It's fine." Reyna simply replied with a shrug. She walked over to the empty side and lifted up the covers, slipping under slowly. As she lay there she just stared at the ceiling. The feeling of the bed…it was nice. Despite the fact that she didn't really feel temperature changes, Reyna found the feeling of the blankets on top of her comforting.

Erza leaned over to turn off the bedside lamp before lying down herself.

"Goodnight Reyna." Her voice drifted over sleepily.

"Goodnight Erza…and thank you." She added, glancing over at the girl. Erza just smiled at her in return before closing her eyes fully to lose herself in sleep. Reyna stared at the ceiling for a few moments loner before joining her companion.

"Ah, you look so much better! How did you sleep?" Cana instantly questioned as Reyna stepped through the doors of the guild hall. Erza following behind.

"Best sleep I've had in a long time." Reyna answered honestly with a shrug. Cana seemed pleased with that. Off to the side, Mira sat with her siblings whose names Reyna had recently learned, Lisanna and Elfman. They were discussing something, but as soon as Lisanna noticed Reyna she quickly ran over to her.

"Reyna! We were just talking about you. We realized we didn't know where you came from." She stated with a wide smile. Reyna tilted her head to the side in thought.

"Hm…to be honest I'm not really sure either. I think it's somewhere far north of here. I woke up there a month ago." She mused. Lisanna looked at her in complete confusion.

"Woke up? What do you mean?"

"I woke up. I don't really remember anything before that point. I woke up and just, started making my way around, trying to find people who might know me." She explained with a shrug. Everyone's voices faded out as they took in what she said.

"You don't remember anything?" Erza questioned with a sad look on her face. Reyna just nodded. There was no need to feel bad about it. Reyna could hardly miss something she never had.

"That's so sad…" Lisanna muttered. Reyna didn't really know how to respond to that so she just remained silent. Soon enough people began to move on from the topic of her memory loss and restart their own conversations. Erza kept shooting her sympathetic glances when she thought Reyna couldn't see.

The look of pity filled her with discomfort.

"So kid, how long are you gonna hang around?" Mira questioned as she sat at the bar. Reyna just shrugged, sipping from her cup of orange juice as she watched Gray and Natsu attack each other. She was under the impression that guild mates were supposed to get along. Though, this could be their version of it.

"I'm not sure. I usually don't stay in one place for long. Though I get the feeling you're trying to get rid of me anyways." Reyna said in a monotone. Mira just laughed at that.

"Don't get sassy with me." She pointed a finger in Reyna's face jokingly. Cana's arm suddenly found its way around her shoulders.

"You should hang out here for a while! It's always nice having new people around. Maybe you'll even decide to join." She smiled brightly at Reyna who was skeptical. While the people here were exceptionally kind, she wasn't sure she wanted to actually join. The idea felt…weird.

"No pressure Reyna, but you're free to continue staying with me. I have more than enough room." Erza added as she joined in the conversation. Reyna considered it for a moment.

She didn't really understand a lot about feelings, or interactions in general really. But, a warmth spread in her gut as she took in the fact that they wanted her to stay. It was strange but pleasant. She looked around at the people around her.

"I…am not sure if I'll join, but I would like to stay here for a little longer." She finally stated. Her lips turned slightly upwards into the first smile since arriving. Erza's eyes softened at the expression, a smile forming on her face as well.

Erza could tell Reyna was someone who was alone in the world. Despite the fact that the girl was quiet, there was a feeling she got when around her that felt comforting. Erza could tell Reyna had a good heart, she just needed a bit of a push to get it out there. And Fairy Tail was the best at pushing.

Erza hugged Reyna from the side, still smiling.

"I'm glad."

"You're staying for longer?! Fight me! I haven't seen your magic yet!" Natsu suddenly grabbed Reyna's arm, dragging her towards the door as Erza shouted for him to not be gentle behind them. Mira started arguing with the red head about her letting Natsu man handle Reyna like that. Reyna's smile still lay on her face.

Makarov watched his children as they interacted with the new girl. Despite the fact that she didn't seem to have plans to join the guild, she still grew surprisingly fast on some of his members. He was especially surprised to see Erza and Mira actually attempting to get to know the girl.

Those two weren't exactly the most open. But, Reyna had a certain innocent vulnerability to her that made it easy he supposed. Also anyone who was friendly with Lisanna got extra points in Mira's book.

There was something…off about that child. The energy around her felt different than anything he's ever felt before. But, it didn't feel evil so he wasn't worried about it. He was curious though. Where had she come from?

He had a feeling she would make big changes. He just hoped they wouldn't lead to disaster.

As Makarov was contemplating Reyna, beneath the guild something different was happening. The light of Fairy Tail, its Heart, pulsed suddenly before becoming still. It shone just slightly brighter as a voice rang out.

Reyna…

Next time: Arcane